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International Legal News - 16 December 2024

The following media round up on international and foreign policy issues from around the world for the period of 09 December to 15 December 2024. Guernica 37 will provide weekly media updates from the International Criminal Court, European Court of Human Rights, United Nations, European Union and other sources. Should you wish to contribute or submit a media summary, opinion piece or blog, please send to Ned Vucijak at nenadv@guernica37.com for consideration.

Round up on international and foreign policy issues from around the world
Guernica 37 International Legal News

13 December 2024

 

Expert IUCN World Heritage Panel meets in Dakar, Senegal to evaluate new nominations to the World Heritage List

 

IUCN is the official advisor on natural heritage under the World Heritage Convention and as part of this role is responsible for evaluating all new World Heritage nominations where nature conservation values are proposed for recognition. This year’s meeting marked the first time the IUCN World Heritage Panel has taken place in Africa.

 

“We were pleased to welcome the IUCN World Heritage Panel to Dakar for their annual meeting. With more than 50% of the natural World Heritage sites on the danger list within our region, the meeting provided a unique opportunity to engage staff in the globally important work that IUCN does in relation to World Heritage, as well as identify opportunities to integrate regional and local expertise into World Heritage processes” said Nana Oumou Toure-Sy, IUCN Regional Director for West and Central Africa.

 

 

13 December 2024

Human Rights Watch research, including in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Iraq, the Occupied Palestinian Territory, South Sudan, Syria, Ukraine, and Yemen, shows that people with disabilities have faced not only violent attacks, but abandonment, distinct harms during displacement, and neglect in humanitarian responses.

 

In 2019, the Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2745, calling upon States and warring parties to protect persons with disabilities in armed conflicts and ensure they have access to justice, basic services, and humanitarian assistance. While the Resolution was a historic win for people with disabilities and disability rights advocate, unfortunately, its implementation remains inadequate. Recognizing the lack of progress, Security Council Member States have now recommitted to implementing the Resolution and mainstreaming disability across the council’s work.

 

 

13 December 2024

 

UN Special Procedures call for Chastity and Hijab law in Iran to be repealed as an assault on women’s rights and freedoms

 

UN experts – i.e. the Special Rapporteur on the situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, the Working group on discrimination against women and girls, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, and the Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression – expressed concern about a new law in Iran that imposes a series of new penalties on women and girls who fail to wear a hijab and called on the Government of Iran to immediately repeal it.

 

“The new hijab law marks an intensification of state control over women’s bodies in Iran and is a further assault on women’s rights and freedoms,” the experts said. The Law on Protecting the Family through the Promotion of the Culture of Chastity and Hijab is reportedly set to come into force on 13 December 2024. It provides for the punishment of those aged 12 and above who fail to wear a hijab online or offline, and for “promoting or advertising nudity” or “immodest or improper dressing”.

 

 

12 December 2024

 

Transparency International calls for global reform in political finance

 

Transparency International, a global coalition focused on combating corruption, issued a statement strongly urging the Conference of States Parties to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) to take action on establishing global standards for overseeing political finance. The organization asserted that greater transparency in political funding is necessary to address ongoing corruption challenges and unclear practices.

 

To address these challenges, Transparency International has proposed broad reform guidelines. Central to their recommendations is establishing stringent disclosure laws mandating political parties and candidates to maintain detailed financial records. Legally, this initiative is vital because transparent political funding protects the rule of law by ensuring that policies are created to serve the public interest rather than the agendas of concealed or illegal contributors.

 

 

12 December 2024

 

Two more Ukrainian cultural properties under “enhanced protection” of UNESCO

 

At the request of the Ukrainian authorities, the UNESCO Committee for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict has just granted temporary enhanced protection to Babyn Yar, the site of one of the largest massacres of the ‘Holocaust by bullets’, and to the Odesa Literary Museum.

 

These two sites join 25 other Ukrainian cultural properties already placed on the International List of Cultural Property under Enhanced Protection in 2023. Cultural property under the enhanced protection of UNESCO benefits from the highest level of immunity from attack and use for military purposes. Non-compliance with these clauses would constitute a ‘serious violation’ of the 1999 Second Protocol to the Hague Convention, opening the possibility of prosecution.

 

 

12 December 2024

 

DRC files a declaration of intervention in proceedings before the ICJ in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide

(The Gambia v. Myanmar: 7 States intervening)

 

The Democratic Republic of the Congo has filed a declaration of intervention in the proceedings under Article 63 of the Statute. In availing itself of its right of intervention, the DRC relied on its status as a party to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide of 9 December 1948 (the “Genocide Convention”).

 

As a reminder, on 11 November 2019, the Gambia filed an Application instituting proceedings against Myanmar concerning alleged violations of the Genocide Convention. The Gambia requests, among other things, that the Court adjudge and declare that Myanmar has breached its obligations under the Convention, that it must cease forthwith any internationally wrongful act, that it must perform the obligations of reparation in the interest of the victims of genocidal acts who are members of the Rohingya group, and that it must offer assurances and guarantees of non-repetition.

 

 

9 December 2024

 

UN Security Council to hold emergency meeting at Russia’s request as Syria president ousted

 

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting in New York to discuss the situation in Syria, as announced by Russia’s first deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, in a Telegram post. Russia requested an urgent closed consultation with the UNSC after Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia.

 

The EU’s High Representative issued a statement on behalf of the EU, describing the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime as a historic moment for the Syrian people. The EU reaffirmed its solidarity with Syrians both within and abroad, recognizing their aspirations for a brighter future while acknowledging the uncertainties ahead. The statement also urged Syrians to seize this pivotal moment to reunify, stabilize, and rebuild their nation, emphasizing the importance of restoring justice and holding those responsible for past atrocities accountable.

 

 

9 December 2024

 

DRC briefs UN Security Council on recent developments, including political disagreements over constitutional reform and escalating insecurity in the east

 

Bintou Keita, who also heads the UN Stabilization Mission in the DRC, known as MONUSCO, reported on the instability in North Kivu and Ituri provinces, particularly operations by four armed groups: ADF, M23, CODECO and Zaïre. She applauded efforts to quell the violence there and in the wider region, highlighting mediation efforts led by Angola, known as the Luanda process.

 

The country will host a summit on 15 December that will bring together Angolan, Congolese and Rwandan leaders, marking an opportunity to highlight the significant progress made so far.

 

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